Pushing Back Against Burnout
Editor’s Note: The following article was originally written in response to burnout occurring during COVID-19, but has been preserved as a resource for those still struggling with any sort of burnout today.
When the COVID-19 pandemic began in 2020, a prominent concern was mental health—the depression, anxiety, stress, and fear that people would experience living in isolation away from their loved ones and friends, coworkers and clients, and church communities. But halfway through 2021, a new mental health concern surfaced: burnout.
Recent surveys in the United States show that 95% of workers are considering quitting their jobs, with burnout cited as the number one reason. The results also show that 89% of all workers have experienced burnout in the last year. Our churches are now filled with parishioners who are either already deeply stressed in their work and personal life, or those who will likely be there soon.
What exactly is burnout? The Mayo Clinic describes burnout as “a special type of work-related stress—a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity”. And although they identify the phenomenon as primarily work-related, Lucy McBride of The Atlantic says, “Now is the time to redefine burnout as the mental and physical fallout from accumulated stress in any sphere of life, whether that’s work, parenting, caregiving, or managing chronic illness. To muster the energy for reentry into non-pandemic life, people need more than a vaccine and a vacation; they need validation of their experience, a broader reckoning with how they lived before March 2020, and tools to dig out from more than a year of trauma.”
Identifying Burnout
Dr. Christina Maslach of the University of California identifies three main areas where burnout first begins to reveal itself.¹ People feeling strained in one or two areas need to address them quickly, since burnout is progressive. For those experiencing strain in three areas, greater focus and care may be needed.
Are you regularly physically and emotionally exhausted?
Do you feel a lack of energy or have trouble sleeping? Do you worry excessively? Feel sad or hopeless?Are you more cynical and detached than usual?
Do you no longer feel joy from things that used to make you happy? Are you less interested in socializing and feeling less connected to people than you once did? Are you more negative than usual? Does the glass always seem half empty?Do you feel like you’re not contributing anything meaningful like you once were?
Do you feel a sense of ineffectiveness, and that all of your hard work isn’t actually accomplishing anything?
(You can evaluate your own risk of burnout and receive recommendations for self-care using the Berkeley Haas Burnout Risk Index using the code asana as a project code.)
Practicing Self-Care
At the beginning of the pandemic, we introduced a practical framework for self-care² that looked at stress in terms of four metrics: biological, psychological, social, and spiritual. Being attentive to these areas is also important to thinking through the realities around burnout. We have to meet our needs in each of these areas to be healthy people; it’s the way God made us. As you read through the four areas, consider if your own needs are being met in each of these categories.
MEETING YOUR BIOLOGICAL NEEDS
The biological portion of the framework considers the physical aspects that impact mental health. The three main factors to consider here are sleeping habits, eating habits, and physical activity. Individual circumstances may make it impossible to perfectly adhere to best practices in these categories, but they should be evaluated and monitored nonetheless.
MEETING YOUR PSYCHOLOGICAL NEEDS
The psychological portion of the framework looks at someone’s mental and emotional well-being, particularly how they manage stress. The realities of the last two years have resulted in more stress, fear, anxiety, and depression than many of us have dealt with in a long time—if ever. It is important to process that pain now with loved ones, friends, or professional help in ways that are appropriate to caring for the severity of your burden.
MEETING YOUR SOCIAL NEEDS
The social portion of the framework is about balancing social interaction and alone time in healthy ways. As people move from more isolated settings back into regular interaction, there may be stress and anxiety attached to resuming normal social activities. It is important to be aware of these pressures and dynamics and how they impact your stress levels.
Additionally, video conference fatigue is now a part of the social dynamic that has become more prominent since the pandemic began. Dr. Sahar Yousef explains, “Video conferencing is actually physiologically more draining and requires more neurological effort to stay alert and maintain attention. At the end of the day, when your body is tired and your attention is completely sapped, it isn’t your fault—your brain is overloaded.” In light of this, she suggests trying to schedule shorter meetings and scheduling phone calls instead of video calls whenever possible.
MEETING YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS
The fourth element of self-care is spiritual; stress, grief, anxiety, and loss must be processed through a spiritual lens. It is important to pursue individual and corporate spiritual disciplines. Spiritual practices are always vital to the Christian life, but especially so under great stress. Frequent prayer and time in God’s word ground our mental health as we all filter our emotions through our relationship with God. The pain of the last 18 months must be processed with a heart that is anchored in the love and sovereignty of Christ.
Caring for those in our congregation—and ourselves—means speaking into our ongoing pain and presenting a holistic, gospel-based view of self-care. Then, we can bring true healing to those in our midst as we continue to find our footing in a year of disorienting circumstances.
For more practical suggestions for how to take care of yourself in each of these areas and fight burnout, I recommend reading our article “Mental Health Care During Isolation” and utilizing the Self-Care Inventory Worksheet.
1. Read Dr. Maslach’s full article here.
2. Framework adapted from concepts in Craig Ellison’s From Stress to Well Being: Contemporary Christian Counseling.
About the Author
Lauren Gill is Director of Networks and Course Development at the Global Faith & Work Initiative. Lauren has a Master's Degree in Counseling Psychology from Columbia University and is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York. She is also a graduate of the 2010 Gotham Fellowship class and has been working at Faith & Work since 2013.